


Shadows They Will Fade, But I'm Always In The Shade (Without You)

by EvieBluePrincess



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Gen, MEVIE, another dream fic of mine, evies there to help her through it as always, mal is scared of thunder, malvie, they're soft girlfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvieBluePrincess/pseuds/EvieBluePrincess
Summary: Not many things scare Mal but, when they do, thankfully she has Evie by her side to help her
Relationships: Evie & Mal (Disney), Evie/Mal (Disney)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 108





	Shadows They Will Fade, But I'm Always In The Shade (Without You)

**Author's Note:**

> This came to my mind after another dream I had few weeks ago, and yeah, it's disgustingly sweet I guess >.< comments & critism are very appreciated <3

Mal knew about thunderstorms - they learned about them in school, back on the Isle. She can vaguely remember half-heartedly listening to Gothel's screeching voice boredly explaining the light flashes and distant drum-like sounds that sometimes, just a couple days in a year, surrounded the annoyingly bright image of Auradon they got to see from the edge of the barrier. One of Madam Mim's granddaughters had asked about the dark occurrence in class just when the darkness seemed to linger around for much longer than any of them had seen in their short-lived lives. Mal, with a roll of her eyes, dug her pocket knife deeper into the old oak desk, highlighting the details of a cracked crown as she pretended not to listen to Gothel's explaining.

It wasn't really uncommon for kids on the Isle to not know about such normal (to Auradonians, maybe) weather occurrences as their magic dark cloud above their cracked house roofs blocked any weather changes on the Isle and the only real noticeable things they got to see were in the distance that was the fairytale-land called Auradon. All you ever got to see during the year were fluffy white puffs swimming in the light blue sky and sometimes, only for a month or two, white dust covering the disgustingly perfect roofs and the normally very bright green ground. It was a sickening image to Mal, the perfect picture fairytale staring back at her and mocking her every time she walked through Vicious Vale street that was the closest to the ruined and slightly bent bridge that was also known as the end of the barrier. That was the closest one could get to Auradon therefore the blackish fog and torn up clouds in the distance that surrounded it those rare days were noticed rather easily and stirred up some talks on the Isle's streets.

Mal always though that at those moments, Auradon looked almost beautiful in its dark coat. It was the most similar to their home as it could get and it was a bit easier to look at it without her sensitive eyes burning from the brightness. In those days, Auradon didn't scream with colors and happiness and _everything we have and you don't._ It wasn't mocking her anymore as it looked just as sad as their own.

Three people she held close to her heart by her side, they made their way to the bridge to watch the wonderful sight every time it happened. Stepping as close as they could get, they sat on one of the fallen cracked pillars of the bridge. Head resting against blue curls, Mal let out a content sigh as they watched the lovely show of white streaks lightening up the sky in the distance. Mal never cared enough to know what it meant but she liked to think it was some kind of evil force, maybe a little bit of revenge or punishment from something powerful - more than the stupid beast with crown plopped on his head, more than Maleficent herself, that ruled somewhere above them.

It was later that she learned and she remembers what it was that made thunderstorms happen, of course she knew, the knowledge was tucked somewhere in the back of her head along with the scratchy voice and bunch of other useless school stuff alongside her mother's annoying screams of disapproval locked far, far away in the back of her head. But it was hard to remember, hard to even think at all when all she could hear was the war that currently raged in her ears.

Loud, cracking sounds followed by deep distant drumming that got closer and closer each time before a strike of bright, quick light erupted behind the huge windows. The deep purple and blue colored curtains covering them did no job in blocking out the brightness completely, and Mal had to bring the comforter over her head to block it out of her face. She sighed out into the safety under her blanket, taking a moment to herself to calm down her breathing. And then there was a loud bang again that had Mal hugging her pillow closer.

She couldn't take it anymore. This was nothing like on the Isle. The show, beautiful and entertaining show she got to watch was nothing like this extremely loud and bright torture she had to live in. She knew thunderstorms were coming. She heard it from Fairy Godmother two days ago as she warned her students to be careful and not to hang out outside late, she heard it on the television in Jay & Carlos bedroom yesterday, cuddled up on the couch with Evie by her side as they waited for the boys to come back from the kitchen and their own dorm room since-

_,,No, I'm too comfortable, Jay! Go get me my blanket and charger!''_

_,,How am I supposed to know where it is?!''_

_,,The charger is on my nightstand and blanket’s on Evie's bed, it's purple you dumbass, now go, we're cold!''_

And while they waited for Carlos to bring them snacks (because the blue-haired girl refused to eat dinner again and that will never go past Mal) and Jay to bring them a warm blanket and charger for Mal's soon to be dying phone, the weather news came up. And she heard the warnings of three-day-long heavy rain followed by series of storms coming from North Riding, sweeping through Camelot Heights and then right into Auradon. She could hear the reporter's ramblings about a strong wind before she got distracted by Evie's soft lips on her neck and fingers tangling in her hair.

And yeah maybe she should've known after all, that thunderstorms won't be as beautiful and exciting as they seemed to be. They're actually ugly and messy and loud, _oh so loud._ And she wasn't supposed to be scared, no, she was Mal from the Isle, the daughter of Maleficent for Evil's sake.

Mal, that sent people scrambling out of her way at the sound of her boots padding against the broken pavement and vibrant purple wild hair in sight. Mal, who made kids' knees tremble at the mere thought of her name, the one who caused chaos and panic and everything that was _loud._ The one who had jumped into the nasty green ocean splashing against the magic barrier after little Dizzy Tramaine because Gaston Junior thought it could be a fun past time to shove her into the waters. (It wouldn't matter were it anyone else - they were no strangers to death, but this was the Tramaine's kid that clung to Evie's side whenever the girl was let out in the market & It didn't matter that Mal jumped _only_ because of the blue princess who stood stiffly next to her, watching the scene unfold with hitched breath)

And it didn't matter that Jay had to jump after her not even two minutes later to save them both since the purplenette couldn't swim, and the pigtail-splashing-colorful-blur didn't help her at all - clinging to her purple jacket and pushing her back in the water in the process - drowning her.

What mattered was that she was brave enough to jump and it was _her_ who later that night made sure Gaston's dumb son wouldn't be able to walk for at least six weeks with two broken ankles and all of his toes. (Because littlest Tremaine belongs to Evie therefore she's under Mal's protection. No one messes with what’s hers, it's as simple as that)

She had that kind of upper hand on the Isle that people learned to respect, _(eventually, as the fear of an agonizingly painful death forced them to)_ she was fearless, she had no limits and people were close to thinking she _was_ really crazy, not afraid to take down men twice her size.

She also happened to posses and lead a gang of children of the most notorious villains - one extremely strong thief with quick fingers pickpocketing their way to the best stuff they could find on the gloomy dirty Isle, one too-smart-for-his-own-good genius who invented devices from junk that could blow up the whole Isle if he wanted it to & one very poisonous, wickedly smiling seductress holding her hand with dozen of deadly potions & elixirs tucked under the hem of her pretty shirt, always prepared to lure anyone in her traps and get what she wants.

_(It didn't matter now in Auradon, really, they had to do what they did to survive, to get their parents off their backs for at least a little bit. Not that it always worked)_

Mal didn't want to think of what would the people of the Isle think if they saw her now _(not that she particularly cared, anyway)_ If **her mother** saw her, hiding under a _soft_ fluffy blanket in a _soft_ princessy Auradon living her _soft_ little life. But thanks to all things evil, the people of Isle of the Lost couldn't see her, there was no reputation to maintain anymore and her mother couldn't reach her here - no, she wouldn't be able to even if she tried her best.

_(Roaming around the old Maleficent's Lair Forrest - as any other lizard in Auradon should - she had no power, no, she would have to learn to love her first)_

And Mal was free to be herself finally, free of the small but oh so suffocating piece of hope that her mother could actually change.

And yeah, now she could tremble under a purple blanket in her dorm room at the horrific sounds of the world falling apart behind her windows because there was no one to laugh at her, no, just her and her pride. She didn't quite understand how she, out of all the people, was scared of thunderstorms but there was no way anyone will find out about this, ever.

A rumble of thunder that was quickly followed by a distant crack of a falling tree was what made her jump and pull the covers away from her face. Enough, she can't handle this anymore.

With heavy ragged breaths, she finally sat up on the bed and let her eyes get used to the darkness. Darkness never scared her, no, it always felt safe. But this - the furniture and Evie's half-clothed mannequin standing tall in the corner and creating ugly shapes whenever the quick, striking lights lit up the room, followed by the loudest of bangs, were for some twisted reason driving Mal crazy as If all the monsters and demons in her head jumped out and wanted to play. She tried very hard to blame the fear of some possible childhood trauma that could be the reason for her absolute fear of thunder but - wasn't her whole childhood just one big creepy trauma?

She couldn't sleep like this, she couldn't stay in bed, she had to do something and she had to do it now before she sets this place on fire. Scanning the room, she saw the small form of her best friend on the other side of the room, peacefully sleeping in her bed. How could Evie sleep in this mess, Mal couldn't understand but before she knew it she was making her way over to her taking small, careful steps. The floor beneath her feet was cold and she shivered, hugging herself to bring some warmth as she got closer to the other side of the room. When her feet hit the soft fluff of white rug under Evie's bed, she stopped abruptly as If the contact with different material woke her from her thoughtless walk.

_Was she seriously going to wake Evie up because she was scared of sounds?_

Realizing her mistake, she took a few steps back. She knew how Evie barely got any sleep lately, her newest fashion line & all the royal stuff she had to do as Ben's advisor in helping to bring more kids off of the Isle taking up most of her day time on top of long hours in school and making time for her friends- _making time for her._ Mal knew one thing, Evie deserves all the sleep she can get and who knows, maybe she's scared of thunderstorms too, and once she wakes her up they would be scared both. No, that's not going to happen. Mal can't stand when Evie's scared, the fear taking over her doe eyes, earth swimming in tears and the _whimpers_. There is no-

Mal realized too late that she took too many steps backwards, causing her hip to make contact with Evie's full-length mirror and knocking down a jewerly box on the nightstand in the process. She wondered and hoped that the mess she created wasn't loud enough to wake the sleeping form that was her blue princess but seems like her clumsy action didn't go unnoticed when said princess called her name.

_For Evil's sake._ Mal's eyes shifted from the spilled red box on the floor to her best friend's face, seeing the confusion painted over her sleepy features. Before she could say anything though, a loud bang thundered behind the closed curtains and sent Mal to the ground. She ran her fingers through the purple of her hair and pulled on them slightly, trying to ground herself and calm herself down. Evie must've realized what was happening, eyes drifting from the mess on the floor to the windows, then back to Mal, quickly throwing the blankets away and sliding down to the floor next to her small form. A warm hand touched Mal's forearm and her body didn't even have the time to flinch before another thunder erupted and nails dug deeper in her hair.

,,It's okay, It's just me, M,''

Mal was lifted to her feet softly, Evie pulling her forward so they were both standing on the warm fuzzy carpet instead of the cold hardwood floor. Mal relaxed at the calming voice of her blue-haired best friend, the raspy while at the same time honey-sweet voice always calming her nerves, always making her go weak in her knees, melting all the worries and fear away. Light, forest green met with earth brown, and Evie gave her one of her many reassuring smiles.

,,There you are.'' She smiled, her hands brushing from Mal's shoulders over her arms to shaky hands, linking her slender fingers with hers. Mal quickly opened her mouth to speak, to utter an apology for waking the older girl up, for knocking down her jewelry box and losing all its content under the girl's bed or say something to explain but once again, the thunder rudely interrupted and send her crashing right into the princess' arms. Evie automatically wrapped the purple-haired girl into a tight hug, hands running up and down over Mal's back to send the shivers away.

,,Shh, It's okay, it's okay,'' Evie whispered into purple strands, pulling back just a little bit, just to grab the fae's face into her warm hands and let gentle fingers brush along her cheekbones. ,,Come here,''

Mal had let Evie pull her towards the bed, eyes never leaving hers, working on autopilot as her mind couldn't seem to concentrate until she was tucked under the royal blue comforter, soft velvet pillows under her head and the apple scent of Evie's favorite body wash in her nose. She felt charmed, as she usually was whenever near Evie, her never leaving reassuring smile and those kind loving eyes looking back at her with such adoration, absolutely not helping Mal at all to shake out of this magic spell the girl has over her. Evie turned to check the time on her phone quickly before she nestled next to the still wide-eyed Mal, reminding her that today is Saturday, therefore they can sleep in before she pulled the comforter and herself closer.

Promises of strawberry pancakes and fruit jam toasts for breakfast, Evie distracted her from the sound of the thunder drumming against the building, the sounds becoming forgotten as each second passed. Mal tucked herself closer to Evie, eagerly listening to the sound of her voice with soft nods. They stayed like that for a while, Evie's hands clasping Mal's still trembling ones, eyes staring into jade ones, waiting until her breathing calmed down a bit as she ran slender fingers across pale ones to draw lines in her palm and tickle her wrist.

,,You never told me you were scared of thunder,'' Evie said gently after a while when Mal's wincing at the bright light and shivering every time the thunder rumbled throughout the room ceased down a lil bit, too busy listening to her to notice. Evie moved one of her hands to gently brush her fingers over the younger girl's cheekbones just as another thunder hit. This time though, Mal barely flinched, too lost in Evie's eyes to notice.

,,You never asked,'' She whispers, very aware this was the first time she spoke. The older girl giggled in response, bringing a smile on Mal's face and when another thunder hit, the loudest yet, Mal's breath hitched and she's curling up to Evie's chest again. Evie wrapped her arms around the smaller girl in response, kissing the top of her hair and whispering sweet nothings. She brought her hand down to draw circles on Mal's back with her fingers, calming the girl down slowly.

,,I-I'm sorry I woke you up.'' Evie barely heard the soft murmur, hands sneaking under the pajama shirt to let fingers draw over the spine gently.

,,I'm glad you did,'' Evie told her, kissing her forehead. ,,You don't have to pretend to be the fearless big, bad dragon from the Isle.''

Mal nuzzled closer to Evie's neck, closing her eyes and concentrating on the feather-like touches of Evie's warm fingers, the sound of Evie's steady heartbeat in her ear and the calm, loving voice whispering in her hair rather than the storm raging outside their window.

,,Never around me, my love, please remember that.'' A soft kiss planted on the top of her head, Evie smiled when she felt the younger girl nod against her neck, kissing the crown of her hair once more. The rain picked up its pace but the thunder creased down a bit, lulling both girls back to sleep slowly.

,,I ruined your jewelry box E,'' Mal sighed. ,,I know how much you loved it.''

,,No, you didn't, baby. The lid is just displaced from its hinges a bit, nothing I wouldn't be able to fix.'' A light squeeze of her shoulders, Mal shook her head in with a half-hearted huff of disbelief.

,,You are so great at fixing things, everything you touch is suddenly fixed,'' Mal started, fighting her tired eyes to stay open. ,,You fix people's clothes, kid's torn-up toys, jewelry boxes knocked over in the middle of the night, even me.'' Evie clucked her tongue and shook her head, ruffling the purple curls atop of Mal's head with the motion.

,,You're not something to be fixed, M.'' She scolded her half-heartedly, knowing very well that Mal, despite all that they've been through together, all she had to go through and how beautiful their life here was for the past almost a year, Mal thought of herself so poorly. Evie had tried many times to explain, to kiss the thoughts and feelings away but she knows first hand that things like those will never go away, never so easily. They all got their own demons that will never leave them. For instance, she knows she'll never learn to love herself fully, not the way Mal would want her to.

Mal simply hummed in response, leaning her head upwards a bit, just to plant a small kiss on Evie's jaw as a thank you. Be it for the comment or saving her from the hideous nightmare that was the storm, Evie didn't ask, stroking Mal's back, braiding her fingers through the tangles of a purple mess, intentionally lulling her to sleep. Mal fought it, though, her curiosity refusing to let her go.

,,E?'' She mumbled.

,,Mhmm.''

,,You're not scared of thunder.'' Blinking away the sleep she so desperately chased a couple of minutes ago, she wondered out-loud, not a question, just a statement, rubbing at her eyes before tangling her hand with back with Evies. The storm was no longer raging behind the windows, the strong rain no longer pounding on the windowsill either, the rhythm calm and easy one, just like the soothing heartbeat in her ear. A lullaby to her ears.

Mal was almost positive that Evie went back to sleep, the soft sound of rain filling the silence before finally, Evie spoke.

,,It's weird, right? I should be. Being locked in a castle that was filled with so much silence, I mean, not counting the other times but,'' Mal reassuringly tightened her grip around her waist, bringing their clasped hands to her mouth and kissing Evie's knuckles. _It's okay, it's okay._ There was no need for words.

Too many times did Mal sneak into the dark gloomy castle unnoticed to know it like the back of her own castle, and yes, the halls were dark and the wallpaper had a color that was no color at all from how old and unkept it actually was, but the walls once carried mirrors in many shapes and forms ever since Mal could remember and for some unexplained reason they were always changing, missing, and new replacing them every couple of months. She would see the hundreds of mirrors that were once intact but, not anymore, suddenly broken in pieces, littering the floor as she made her way into the castle unannounced on one Friday afternoon. It didn't take her long to realize what was happening to those mirrors and why would there be suddenly new ones almost every month, one look at Evie's shocked face and desperate attempts to hide bloody parts, not to be seen and not to be spoken of, ever again and _you didn't see anything, Mal, promise me._

And it stayed with her, of course, even far away from the ruin of a castle and the evil mother, as if the demons followed after her. It showed in her eyes as panic took over them not even 4 months after their arrival, when a clumsy kitchen helper dropped a whole tray of dishes in Auradon prep's cafeteria, the piercing sound of shattered glass echoing against the tall walls and interrupting their dinner as Evie hid under the table and curled into a ball, pleading with the most heart-breaking of voices she ever heard. _No, no, mommy don't, I promise I'll do better, mommy please, no!_ was what she would chant, over and over until Mal's sweet whispering in her hair got louder than the cruel one in her head.

,,I'm really happy you're not scared of thunder.''

,,Me too, Mal, me too.''

Mal quickly sensed the unpleasant shift in the mood the conversation brought, determinded to change that to prevent bad nightmares. It still didn't make any sense to her how Evie, after all the things she went through, managed to make everyone's worries and fears scatter into nothing just with her smile. She always did. Mal clung her tongue, shaking her head.

,,If you think about it, It's kind of not fair, you know, Evie?'' She huffed, ,,I'm a dragon. You're the princess, I'm supposed to be saving you, not the other way around, but look at us!'' She whined, stirring around dramatically, the sound of Evie's laugh bringing a lazy accomplished smile on her face as she drifted dangerously close to sleep again, her eyelids too heavy to stay open this time in the arms of the girl she loves the most.

She could barely hear the thunder now, the streaks of white no longer lightening up the sky and creating shadows, the rain soft and calm against the windows, just like Evie's heartbeat in her ear. 

,, Well, my love, sometimes it's the princess who has to protect her dragon.'' Evie whispered in her ear, so so quietly just to reach Mal's ears. She laid a few kisses on her temple and smiled at the little sound Mal made in return, finally letting the sleep take over her. She watched her face soften, the small frown dissapearing as a small pout took over instead. 

_Her big, bad, soft dragon._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! <3 Means a lot to me!  
> As for my other fic, I didn't forget about it, I promise! <3
> 
> catch me on tumblr @tiniestslytherin


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